Avoided
by lanadeljey
Summary: Gray finally gave Juvia a chance, but it's causing him to drift from his friends. When Erza finally puts her foot down, he realizes something. Natsu is pissed off...like...REALLY pissed off.
1. Chapter 1

Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Erza were all sitting at their usual table at the guild hall, doing the same thing they have been doing for weeks, looking for jobs, knowing they couldn't go without Gray.

Gray and Juvia have been dating the past couple of weeks. Gray finally gave it a shot and now they're always together.

"This is getting annoying." Said Natsu, resting his head on the table.

"You said that yesterday." Said Lucy.

"And the day before…" added Erza.

"And the day—"

"Okay, I get it! I'm constantly annoyed! But this isn't right! He shouldn't be constantly with her!" he shouted.

"Is someone jealous?" joked Erza.

"Hell no! But he's always with her! How is he gonna pay rent, let alone…how are _we_ going to pay rent if we can't go on jobs?" ranted Natsu. The sound of the Juvia's laughter got his nerves going and he immediately got up and stormed out of the hall with Happy. Gray noticed and turned to Erza and Lucy.

"What's up with flame brain?" asked Gray as he walked up to the table. Lucy put on a fake smile.

"Gray, we're really happy that you're enjoying your time with Juvia, but we haven't gone on a job since you two got together, and times are kind of tough for all of us, even you." Said Lucy.

"Oh…I didn't really notice…" he said.

"How do you not notice something like that?" asked Erza. Gray gulped. "We haven't made money in almost two weeks. Thirteen days to be exact. I think you forgot that if we don't make money, _you_ don't make money." She added.

"Sorry, Erza. I'll let you guys pick any job you want, I promise I'll come along." He said.

"See, Gray, you said that a couple of days ago." Said Lucy. Gray blushed in embarrassment.  
"I promise this time is different. Just let me know the minute you find a job okay?" he asked.

"This is your last chance." Said Erza. "Don't disappoint me again." Gray nodded.

"I'm gonna go get Natsu." He said.

"I can't stand him, Happy…" said Natsu. They were both walking back to his apartment.

"I know, Natsu. He's in love, he doesn't realize that he's been avoiding us."

"I don't care. It's no excuse in my book." He ranted.

"Natsu!" shouted Gray. Natsu stopped in his tracks.

"If I turned around and see her next to you, we're gonna have a problem, Ice Princess!" he shouted. Gray caught up to him and Natsu saw that he was alone. "You're lucky." He said.

"What's your deal?! I get that I've been avoiding you and the others, and I apologized for it. Can you calm down now?"

"No, I won't calm down because I know it's just another excuse you're pulling out of your ass! You're going to be with her before I go to sleep tonight!" he shouted.

"Why do you care so much about who I'm dating?!" he shouted.

"I don't give a _shit_ about who you're dating! You're making me lose money! I don't have a lot to begin with, and if I don't pay my rent soon I'm kicked out!" he shouted even louder, causing people to stare.

"Natsu, calm down. People are staring."

"Then let them stare! Let them know that you abandoned your friends for someone who's _obsessed_ with you!" he shouted. Gray was blushing now, not in a good way either.

"Can you please just calm down?" he said. Natsu was now panting and his face was red with anger. Gray put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Listen, we're gonna go on a job really soon. I promise you. If you're still having problems with rent I can help out. It's partially my fault anyway."

"It's _all_ your fault." He corrected. Gray shrugged it off. "But thanks…I guess." He said. Gray smiled.

"I'm gonna go back to the guild hall. Are you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah…but just listen to me, and when I say listen don't listen to me and ignore me like usual…" said Natsu. The words kind of hurt Gray. Did he really think that he didn't care about Natsu? "…I've been in love before, but I never forgot my friends. Don't forget the people who helped you get where you are." He said. Gray couldn't really say anything for a moment. Natsu didn't wait for a reply, he just left. Gray stood there and really processed what he said.

'Have I really been that blinded?' he thought as he went back to the guild hall. He went and sat down with Juvia, who was seated with Erza and Lucy now.

"Hello my Gray, did you find Natsu?" asked Juvia.

"Yeah, I talked to him." He said, avoiding eye contact.

"What's up?" asked Erza. "Why the long face?"

"It's just that…he told me something and I can't stop thinking about it…" he said.

"What did he say?" asked Lucy.

"It was just something weird. Don't worry about it." He said. Yet, in his head, the same sentence kept ringing over and over.

 _'Yeah…but just listen to me, and when I say listen don't listen to me and ignore me like usual…'_

'Idiot…why did you have to say that to me?' he thought.

"Okay, I found us all a job. It pays around 50,000 jewel. A town up north got attacked by a team of wizards. We have to stop them before they head out of town. It's a pretty cold town, so Juvia, if you could we would like you to join." Juvia nodded.

"Gray, are you in?"

"Yeah, I said I wasn't going back on my word."

"You didn't say that but alright." Said Erza, ignoring his effort to try and fix things.

"I said it to Natsu…" he said, but was ignored.

"Alright, so all I need to do is tell Natsu and it will be official. Lucy, will you go—"

"I can do it." Said Gray as he stood up. The rest of the group looked at him with weird looks on their faces.

"Alright…that's fine I guess." Said Erza. Gray nodded and ran out of the hall. "What the hell was that about?" asked Erza. Lucy shrugged and Juvia did the same.

Gray ran to Natsu's house and knocked on the door. Natsu answered after a couple minutes.

"Hey…?" said Natsu. He was weirded out that Gray was at his house. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" asked Gray.

"You've came up to me twice today and we're not even on a job." He said.

"O-Okay?" said Gray nervously. "What are you getting at?"

"I don't know…it's just weird. We usually don't talk unless we're fighting or at a job, so you being at my house is kind of weird. Can I help you now?" said Natsu.

'Why does he always make me feel crap…' thought Gray.

"W-We found a job." He said, scratching the back of his neck and looking down.

"And you're going on it?" he asked. Gray blushed.

"Y-Yes! Stop doing that!" he shouted.

"Stop doing what?" asked Natsu.

"Making me feel…nothing, never mind! We just found a job and I wanted to tell you." He said while blushing. Natsu didn't really notice. "Sorry for bothering you." He said as he turned to walk away. Natsu grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Wait, sorry. It's just really weird seeing you at my house. Did you want to come in?" he asked, still holding on his arm. Gray slowly nodded. They walked in and Gray was surprised. Natsu Dragneel's house was spotless.

"You really keep a nice place here man…I'm surprised."

"You know, when you get to know me I'm not a messy person, who is always saying something stupid." Said Natsu, jokingly.

"I never said you were." Said Gray, who seemed like he was hurt. "Natsu…I know that I haven't been a really good friend to you, if you would even call me a friend…" said Gray. "But…when you told me to listen to you earlier…I couldn't stop thinking about it." He said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Natsu.

"When you told me to listen to you…I never realized all of these bad ways I've acted towards you. I'm really sorry, Natsu." Said Gray.

"I'm not really worried about it." He said.

"But you are…you wouldn't point it out to me if you weren't."

"Gray people treat me like shit all of the time. You aren't something new." He said. Gray got angry with him.

"I don't want to be someone who treats you like shit!" he said. Natsu could swear that he saw tears in Gray's eyes. "I'm sorry…okay?" he said. "I wanna be your friend, not someone you expect to take a hit from." He said. Gray walked up to him and pulled him into an embrace. Natsu didn't know what to do.

"Why are you taking this so hard?" asked Natsu. "What aren't you telling me?" he asked. Gray shook his head.

"I guess you just knocked some sense into me." He said.

They broke the hug and looked into each other's eyes. Gray leaned in and kissed Natsu. Natsu quickly backed off and looked at Gray in shock.

"S-Sorry! I don't know what came over me…I'm just going to leave." Said Gray as he immediately left the house.

"What the hell just happened?" said Natsu out loud. Happy walked in the room and saw the situation.

"What do you mean, Natsu?" he asked. Natsu just shook his head and tried his best to pretend that the entire thing never happened.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the next day and Team Natsu was up and ready for their job. Gray was trying his best to avoid Natsu at all costs but for some reason, Natsu wasn't acting weird at all. They were on their way to the train station and Natsu was complaining about his stomach, per usual. Gray sat next to him, away from Erza and Lucy, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Natsu…about last night…" he started. Natsu grumbled but was listening. "It was an honest mistake. I didn't know what went over me." He said. "I swear I'm not gay." He added. Natsu gave him a disgusting look.

" _That's_ what you're worried about? If I think you're gay or not?" he asked. "How about the fact that you, Gray Fullbuster, kissed me." He said.

"Shh! Can you keep it down? My damn!" whispered Gray.

"Obviously, you're going through a lot of shit in order to do something as crazy as that. So that's the only thing that worried me." Said Natsu. "And being gay isn't wrong. I'm not saying you are, but don't treat it as if it was a disease." He added in. Gray was kind of astounded. Was he getting lectured by Natsu Dragneel?

"Well…sorry, I guess."

"Gray being in love is a really cool thing…you know that just as much as I do." He said. Gray began to sit back, feeling relaxed now that the awkwardness was dying down. "but if you let it make you go crazy, it can also kill you." He said. Gray nodded.

"I know…but the thing is…I'm not even sure if I love her or not." He said. That earned a very surprised look from Natsu. "I know, I know. It's hard to believe 'cause I'm always with her, but it's true. Yeah, she's a great friend, but we hardly ever kiss, and when we do it's really awkward, we don't hug or do anything else that would be considered affectionate. She calls me 'her Gray' and that's nothing new." He said. Natsu was quiet for a moment.

"I don't really know what to tell you, man. Personally, I would end it now, but you've made her think you loved her all this time. Two weeks isn't really that long either, though. If you're not happy, end it with her on good terms." He said.

"How do you know so much about this stuff?" asked Gray. Natsu glared at him.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" he asked. Gray just shook his head, trying to avoid an argument. For once, they just talked. It wasn't about the guild, it wasn't about the job they were on, but it was just about shit that happens in life. It felt good to Gray. He only hoped it had the same effect on Natsu. "I did notice something, though." Said Natsu.

"Yeah?"

"When I'm having a deep conversation, my stomach doesn't hurt." He said, placing a hand on his stomach. "So I guess I just have to keep talking!" he said.

"Greaaattt." Teased Gray, earning a smack on the head. They continued to talk for the majority of the ride there. It even got to the point where Erza was checking on them because the two not fighting had a weird vibe to everything.

"This is weird." She said as she sat in her seat.

"What is?" asked Lucy. Erza rubbed her temples in effort to calm her mind.

"Natsu and Gray. They're talking." She said. Lucy didn't say anything because she truly didn't know what Erza was saying. "As in they're not fighting." She added.

"Oh. Well, I guess that's a good sign. They're finally getting along after all of those years. You shouldn't be stressing out over something like that." Said Lucy.

"Gray was over at our house last night." Said Happy. "When I walked in, Natsu was blushing and Gray had just run out of the house." He stated. Lucy and Erza gave each other a shocked look.

"Do you think…?" started Lucy.

"No…Lucy, what are the chances of them getting together? It would never happen. Gray probably just apologized to Natsu about avoiding the team or something. He was pretty pissed off at Gray for that." Said Erza.

"I don't know, Erza. I have a weird feeling about this." Said Lucy.

"Lucy, five minutes ago you didn't even know they were friends." Said Erza. Lucy sweatdropped and shrugged it off.

"I say we pay no mind to it. If something is bound to happen, it needs to happen naturally. We must vow that we will _not_ interfere!" said Lucy, putting a hand out. Erza and Happy put their hands on top and nodded.

"Deal!" all three said.

"I can't wait to go to bed…" said Gray as he yawned.

"Yeah, me either. I'm already tired and we're not even there yet." Said Natsu. There was a long pause before Gray started up a conversation again.

"So…have you ever had a girlfriend?" asked Gray. Natsu looked at him funny.

"What kind of plot twist was that?" he laughed. Gray shrugged.

"I don't know. I've just never seen you with a girl."

"Lisanna?" said Natsu.

"Oh, I forgot about her. What happened between you and her?" asked Gray. Natsu blushed really hard at this question.

"I don't really wanna talk about that." He said. Gray quickly changed the topic.

"Oh, well what about Gajeel? Are you and him friends?" he asked. He didn't know why, but he wanted to know a lot more about Natsu. It was almost as if he wanted to make up for the past years when he didn't give a shit about him.

"I don't even know about that metal head." He said. "Both of our fathers went missing at the same time, so you'd think that he would at least want to work together or something, but no. He hates me." Said Natsu. They both laughed thinking about him. "It really weirds me out. How can you hate someone before you even know them?" asked Natsu. "Especially if it's for no reason." He added. Gray rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry, man." He said. Natsu looked at him.

"For what?" he asked.

"For all those years…"

"Gray, stop doing that. We both hated each other. We're friends now, so everything is fine!" he said, trying to cheer up Gray.

"When it was time to do the right thing, you always did it. I was always stubborn." He said.

"Why are you such a dick?" asked Natsu.

"You're the dick!"

"I'm not the one moping around about the past, Ice Princess!"

"I was trying to apologize, flame brain!"

"I already said that there wasn't any need to! You just had to make it awkward!" said Natsu. Gray stood up.

"I'm moving." He said as he closed the curtain behind him to sit at another seat on the train.

"Fine by me, asshole." Said Natsu. Gray stormed back in.

"What did you call me?!" shouted Gray.

"It was nice while it lasted." Said Lucy. Erza and Happy nodded.

"I called you an asshole!"

"At least I have a backbone! You're always looking to bend over backward for the stupidest reasons and all you end up doing is getting in the way!" he shouted.

"What does any of that have to do with anything?!" shouted Natsu.

"That's why so many random people hate you, idiot!" shouted Gray. It got silent. Gray wished he could make time go back, but it was too late. The words were already out there. Natsu just looked at him, trying to keep an angry face, but you could see the hurt as clear as day. He simply sat back down and turned towards the window.

"Natsu, listen…" he started but was cut off by Natsu throwing a fireball at him. He quickly used ice shield to block it, but it still scared him.

"Just get the fuck out." He said. Gray did as he was told and left Natsu alone. He sat down at an empty seat and sighed.

'I fucked up big time.' He thought.


	3. Chapter 3

The train took a slow stop to the town that Team Natsu was headed to. They all got up and Natsu stood in front of Gray in line, waiting to get off of the bus.

"Natsu, I'm glad you calmed your stomach illness this trip." Said Erza. Natsu didn't say anything. Erza noticed the fire in his eyes. The _rage_. She quickly shut her mouth and put a hand on his shoulder. He almost jumped at the sense of touch. He slowly looked at her as if she was crazy enough to touch him. "Calm it." She said, spitefully. She earned to reply, but a glare that shot through her soul. She let go of his shoulder and he was on his way off of the train.

"What was that about?" asked Lucy. Erza ignored her question and looked at Gray.

"What did you say to him?" asked Erza. Gray gulped and tried to play stupid.

"W-What?" he said. Erza just shook her head and got off of the train. It was just him, Lucy, and Happy. "He…he looked really angry." Said Gray. Lucy nodded.

"I don't know what you said to him, and I'm not going to be nosey enough to ask, but you need to fix it. He never treated Erza like that." She said. Gray just shrugged.

Once they were all off of the train, they got situated in their hotel rooms. Erza and Lucy had one room, Gray and Natsu were in the other. When they walked into their rooms, Gray was surprised to find out that their room only had one queen sized bed. He looked at Erza and Lucy's room and they had full sized beds.

"Is this a joke?" he said. Erza took a look at their room and her eyes widened.

"Hm…that's not the reservations I made. I'll call the front desk." She said. It was quite tense in Gray's room while Natsu just stood there. Gray looked at him, he was so lost in his own thoughts. He had that same angry look on his face. Gray didn't know what to do.

"So…bad and good news." Said Erza. She got Gray's attention. She waited for Natsu, but he wasn't budging so she just continued. "Bad news is that the hotel is booked, and this is the only room for you two." She said. Gray began to blush.

"and the good news?" asked Gray.

"The good news is that this is a perfect chance for you two to work things out and stop fighting." She said. Gray blushed even harder. Natsu shot a glare at Erza. He knew she did that on purpose.

After everyone got situated Gray noticed Erza and Lucy getting in their pajamas.

"Aren't we supposed to be on our way to the town?" asked Gray.

"The town's gates close at six o'clock for security reasons. There's no way for us to get in until tomorrow." She said.

Gray was making his side of the bed, and he looked at Natsu. He was just sitting on his side of the bed and staring out the window.

"Are you just not going to talk to me?" he asked. No response from the salamander. Gray sighed. "Natsu… _please_ talk to me."

"Fuck off." He said. Gray scratched the back of his neck.

"Not really was I was expecting, but it's a start I guess…" he said. He walked around the bed and sat down next to him. "Listen…I'm sorry." He said. "I don't really know what I can do to fix this but I do want to fix it." Said Gray. Natsu didn't say anything. Gray put a hand on his shoulder, and a flame engulfed his hand until he pulled it away. "H-How did you…" he said, but let it go. He stripped down to his pants and climbed into bed. He turned down the light and Natsu just sat there. Gray knew he would eventually get into bed and he would wake up with his taking most of it or something.

It was the middle of the night and Gray had woken up randomly. His eyes had adjusted to the room's darkness and he saw a figure laying on the ground by the bed. He turned on the light and saw Natsu sleeping with one of the pillows and without a blanket.

"Natsu…wake up." He said. Nothing. "Natsu, come on. Just let me know you're awake." He said. Natsu sat up and looked at Gray.

"What." He said coldly.

"Get into bed."

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm comfortable where I am." He said, laying back down. Gray got out of bed and picked Natsu up bridal style.

"Put me down!" he shouted.

"You're going to wake up Erza! Shut it!" said Gray.

"I don't care, put me down." Said Natsu. Gray put him on the bed and slid his pillows over to him.

"If you don't want to sleep next to me that bad, I'll sleep on the ground." Said Gray. Natsu began getting frustrated and his face was red with anger.

"I fucking hate you." He said. Gray froze in his tracks. His heart shattered.

"W-What?" he asked, shakily.

"I hate you! You always do this! You give me all the reasons to hate you and then you get into my fucking head…" he said as he grabbed his own locks of hair and covered his face. "…and try and change my feelings. It's not happening anymore!" he said. Gray just stood there. His breathing started to pace up. His eyes began to sting and his teeth began to grind. Natsu looked up and for the first time since the fight on the train, he looked him in the eyes. Then Gray saw the hurt in Natsu's eyes, not the anger. He pointed to Gray with an open hand. "And then I see _that_." He began. This shocked Gray. "I look in your eyes and I forget all the reasons why I hate you, and then I open up again, only for you to come back and fuck me over all over again." He said, as tears fell down his face. Gray's eyes were wide.

"N-Natsu…" he said. He sat in front of Natsu on the bed and leaned in to kiss him. Natsu pushed him away.

"No." he said. "You're not coming back in this time." He added. Gray grabbed his hand.

"I'm begging you…just one more chance. I…I just didn't know how you would react if I told you my feelings…so I hid them by being mean to you. I don't know how to fix this, Natsu. Just please let me try again." He said. Natsu looked him in the eyes for a long time.

"You used me. I opened up to you and you used me for my feelings." He said. Gray's heart shattered even more. Tears fell down the ice mage's face as he listened to the boy he hurt so deep. "I thought we were finally really friends. Then you turn around and _remind_ me that I hardly have any friends." He said. Gray began to sob, which got the attention of Natsu. He looked up at the ice mage and he couldn't help himself. He quickly embraced Natsu and as much as he tried to free himself, Gray wasn't letting go.

"I won't mess it up. Please give me another chance." Said Gray. Natsu slowly wrapped his arms around Gray.

"Gray, I swear to god this is your last chance." He said. He felt Gray hold on tighter.

"Thank you. I love you." He said. Natsu'

"I…I don't know if I can say it back. I…I'm sorry." He said. Gray just nodded.

"I understand. You need time." He said. He grabbed Natsu's hand and kissed it. He then leaned in and kissed Natsu's lips. Natsu kissed back and it was so full and passionate. Full of sorrow and love. "Now enough crying for both of us. We need to go to sleep." He said. Natsu nodded. They tucked themselves into bed and right before they fell asleep, Gray cuddled up against Natsu, wrapping his arms around his body and laid his head on his chest. Natsu smiled and ran his fingers through Gray's hair until they both fell asleep.


End file.
